17
April 326 A.D. Alexander,
Bishop of Alexandria and Predecessor of Athanasius, passes this world.
The story is told at: http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/301-600/alexandria-lost-notable-alexander-11629653.html
The whole Christian world honors
Athanasius as its champion because of his battles against Arianism. But behind
Athanasius was a great bishop--the man who set Athanasius' feet on the path to
fame. Alexander not only selected Athanasius to be his successor, but took open
action against the heresy of Arius, the priest who insisted Jesus was a created
being rather than an eternal member of the Godhead.
Alexander was born around 250. An
upright man, he survived as a priest through the persecutions that raged under
Galerius and Maximinus. He became Patriarch of Alexandria in 313. It was well
that the post was given him, for Arius was conniving to get the job and would
undoubtedly have used the position to disseminate his heresy even more widely
than he did.
Arius began to teach his views
around 300. Peter, the Patriarch of Alexandria at that time excommunicated him.
While Peter was on death row for his faith, Alexander joined with Achillas (who
took Peter's place as patriarch) to plead for the restoration of Arius. Peter
refused in strong terms, declaring that Arius was eternally damned.
Nonetheless, when Achillas took power, he made Arius a priest.
Alexander was slow to recognize
the danger of Arius' false teaching. In fact, he moved so slowly against the
renegade priest that his clergy grew restive.
Finally Alexander excommunicated
Arius. A council held in Alexandria upheld this decision and declared Arius'
views heretical. The Egyptian bishop wrote to Patriarch Alexander of
Constantinople that Arius and his buddies had "constructed a workshop for
contending against Christ, denying the Godhead of our Savior, and preaching
that He is only the equal of all others. And having collected all the passages
which speak of His plan of salvation and His humiliation for our
sakes, they endeavor from these to collect the preaching of their impiety,
ignoring altogether the passages in which His eternal Godhead and unutterable
glory with the Father is set forth."
But Arius would not disappear. In
fact, his ideas led to riots. Arians clashed with Trinitarians until
Constantine feared for the empire. In 325 the emperor called the first general
council, which met at Nicea. Alexander drew up its acts. At that council, his
young protege, Athanasius, offered a stalwart defense of the doctrine of
Christ's full divinity.
On his deathbed, Alexander
summoned Athanasius to his side and named him his successor. Alexander died on
this day, April 17, 326. Athanasius carried on the fight for orthodoxy until
his own death, suffering serious harassment and five episodes of exile.
Bibliography:
1. "Alexander, St." The
Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Edited by F. L. Cross and E. A.
Livingstone. Oxford, 1997.
2. Butler, Alban. "St.
Alexander, Confessor, Patriarch of Alexandria." Lives of the Saints.
Various editions.
3. Campbell, T.J. "St.
Alexander." The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton, 1914.
4. Hough, Lynn Harold. Athanasius
the Hero. Cincinnati: Jennings and Graham, 1906, especially at p. 49.
5. Various encyclopedia and internet
articles on Alexander and on Arianism.
Last updated May, 2007.
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